Allegiant : 28 new routes, 3 new cities part of its biggest expansion ever

The South Terminal's first arrival -- an Allegiant flight from Albuquerque -- was welcomed with a water-cannon salute on April 14, 2017.(Photo: Courtesy of Sandy L. Stevens, Austin Aviation Department)

Allegiant Air will announce 28 new routes and three new destinations Tuesday. Allegiant is billing the expansion as “the largest-ever announcement of new service in the company’s history.”

The expansion will put three more cities on Allegiant’s route map. Flights from the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast will begin Aug. 30. Allegiant’s service at two other new cities – Milwaukee and Norfolk, Va. – will start in the fall. Allegiant will fly non-stop to five destinations from Milwaukee, three from Norfolk and one from Gulfport.

The Gulfport service brings Allegiant back to a city it previously served. The carrier ended service there in 2009, saying it was losing money on its flights to Orlando Sanford. In reviving the route, the Gulfport Sun Herald says Allegiant will be able to hedge against losses with a revenue guarantee from the Mississippi Development Authority.

Allegiant also is adding a bevy of new routes between other cities it already serves. That includes Allegiant’s base at the Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport, where the company is adding a total of eight seasonal or year-round routes.

“We’re so excited to grow our network and add service in Gulfport, Norfolk and Milwaukee,” Lukas Johnson, Allegiant’s senior vice president of commercial, says in a statement. “With the addition of three new cities and a major expansion of service into Phoenix, we’ll be able to offer some great fall travel options, with convenient, nonstop service across the country.”

Other cities faring well in Allegiant’s expansion include the carrier’s Florida bases in Punta Gorda (five new seasonal or year-round routes), Orlando-Sanford (four routes) and St. Petersburg (four).

Allegiant is one of the USA's three big “ultra-low-cost carriers" that target budget-conscious leisure fliers. The business model of such airlines – which also include Frontier and Spirit – features low base fares but extra charges for everything from carry-on bags to water. Allegiant also typically offers less-than-daily service on most routes, typically offering anywhere from two to four flights a week between most of its city-pairs.

Scroll down for breakdown of the new routes. Allegiant will fly two flights a week on all of the new routes except one; the Cincinnati-Los Angeles schedule will launch with four flights per week. Routes are year-round unless noted.

A french Air Force Airbus A400M stands on the Tarmac of Le Bourget airport on June 18, 2017 on the eve of the opening of the International Paris Air Show. / AFP PHOTO / ERIC PIERMONTERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: AFP_PN9JQ ERIC PIERMONT, AFP/Getty Images

The logo of Dassault Aviation is pictured in front of a Falcon 900 LX at the Dassault Aviation pavillion on June 18, 2017, ahead of the opening of the International Paris Air Show. ERIC PIERMONT, AFP/Getty Images

A man walks past with his bicycle a Japan maritime self-defense forces P-1 submarine-hunting aircraft, at Paris Air Show, on the eve of its opening, in Le Bourget on Sunday, June 18, 2017. Michel Euler, AP

A Dassault Aviation Rafale jet fighter performs as a jetliner crosses the sky during a demonstration on June 16, 2017, prior to the opening of the Paris Air Show on June 19. ERIC PIERMONT, AFP/Getty Images

France's President Emmanuel Macron (left) sits in a Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jet as Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier looks on during the Paris Air Show on June 19, 2017. CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT, AFP/Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron is seated in the cockpit of an Airbus A400M turboprop transport plane while flying from Villacoublay military airbase near Paris to Le Bourget airport for the Paris Air Show on June 19, 2017. Michel Euler, AP

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) with French astronaut Thomas Pesquet (center) and European Space Agency (ESA) Director General, Johann-Dietrich Woerner, (R), while visiting the Paris Air Show on June 19, 2017. MICHEL EULER / POOL, EPA

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways , speaks in front of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, as the airline showed of its new 'Qsuite' business class seats ing on June 19, 2017 on the opening day of the Paris Air Show.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt are among several countries that suspended ties with Qatar last week, including the suspension of all flights to and from Doha and an airspace ban on Qatar Airways. / AFP PHOTO / ERIC PIERMONTERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: AFP_PP3CN ERIC PIERMONT, AFP/Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, French defense minister Sylvie Goulard (left) and Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier, right, watch demonstration flights as part of the Paris Air Show on June 19, 2017. EPA

epa06036743 French President Emmanuel Macron is seated in the cockpit of an Airbus A400M turboprop transport plane before taking off from Villacoublay military airbase near Paris, France, 19 June 2017. Macron landed at the Bourget airfield in an Airbus A400-M military transport plane to launch the aviation showcase, the Paris Air show, running from 19 - 25 June 2017,? where the latest Boeing and Airbus passenger jets will vie for attention with a F-35 warplane, drones and other and high-tech hardware. EPA/Michel Euler / POOL MAXPPP OUT ORG XMIT: REB101 Michel Euler / POOL, EPA

epa06037285 French President Emmanuel Macron (L) visits the Paris Air Show with Tom Enders, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Group, in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France, 19 June 2017. Macron landed at the Bourget airfield in an Airbus A400-M military transport plane to launch the aviation showcase, the Paris Air show, running from 19 - 25 June 2017,? where the latest Boeing and Airbus passenger jets will vie for attention with a F-35 warplane, drones and other and high-tech hardware. EPA/MICHEL EULER / POOL MAXPPP OUT ORG XMIT: REB101 MICHEL EULER / POOL, EPA